Anyone here living in a Grade 11 thatched cottage?

[DoberMan]

I am considering a move and have been looking at thatched cottages in the Bucks area.

Having done some research I realise the restrictions on Grade 11 listed buildings, such as alterations, extensions, and am not particularly bothered by that, more the implication of having a thatched roof.

Type of straw depends on lifespan etc., but what of the annual insurance costs?

My current house insurer couldn't even give me rough estimate, said it was specialists Insurance companies only.

Am I looking at a fortune compared to my £300pa at the moment?

All advice welcome.

 

[Petrol Pete]

£300 per anum, wow , thats cheap. You say you are ' not particularly bothered ' by the building being grade 2 listed.

You might not be particularly bothered by it but I can assure you there are 'jobsworths' out there who are very particularly bothered by it and when you come up against them, they have the upper hand.

I once owned a grade 2 listed house...never again.

Thatch ? not too sure, but if the house is listed be aware of Water reed, Norfolk reed , Wheat reed , Continental water reed, Veldt grass, Heather....sourced from UK or eastern Europe...? the list is endless.

To be honest a car based forum is probably not the best place for your query....cue a hundred folk on here lining up to prove me wrong.

I am only responding to your question based on my own personal expensive experience. Good luck.

 

[DoberMan]

£300 per anum, wow , thats cheap. You say you are ' not particularly bothered ' by the building being grade 2 listed.

Only by the fact I won't be making any changes.

You might not be particularly bothered by it but I can assure you there are 'jobsworths' out there who are very particularly bothered by it and when you come up against them, they have the upper hand.

I once owned a grade 2 listed house...never again.

Thatch ? not too sure, but if the house is listed be aware of Water reed, Norfolk reed , Wheat reed , Continental water reed, Veldt grass, Heather....sourced from UK or eastern Europe...? the list is endless.

Good point, worth checking out if done on the cheap to sell. Must admit it looks very 'bright' to other thatch I've seen.

To be honest a car based forum is probably not the best place for your query....cue a hundred folk on here lining up to prove me wrong.

Sad I know, but the 'experts' here are probably as good as other forums.

I am only responding to your question based on my own personal expensive experience. Good luck.

 

[ringway]

I'm dyslexic and got tired of all the gossiping when I lived in a conversation area.

 

[Swotty]

I am considering a move and have been looking at thatched cottages in the Bucks area.

Having done some research I realise the restrictions on Grade 11 listed buildings, such as alterations, extensions, and am not particularly bothered by that, more the implication of having a thatched roof.

Type of straw depends on lifespan etc., but what of the annual insurance costs?

My current house insurer couldn't even give me rough estimate, said it was specialists Insurance companies only.

Am I looking at a fortune compared to my £300pa at the moment?

All advice welcome.

I looked at buying one when I moved to Weymouth in 1988 ... lovely detached thatch cottage in Lulworth ... for £30K. Insurance even then was double the cost of a convential house and the lifespan of the roof was estimated at 30 years.

It was when I had a word with the Chief Planning Officer that I gave up the idea.

Since then I have worked with solicitors and conservation officers and the main lesson I learned was .... not a problem if you buy the right house. Once you want to start knocking things down, it can get very complicated and expensive, assuming you can get permission.

My advice is to make an appointment to see the Conservation Officer in the Council district where the property is. Discuss openly what you will and won't be able to do ... I say openly as they have the power to order you to reinstate - at your cost - anything they find out about later!

If it's just the roof, then research the net ..... but if you do buy it you may later find you want to make small changes which may prove to be overly expensive, so forewarned is forearmed.

Hopefully someone on here can give you first hand experience.

 

[Petrol Pete]

People assume grade 2 only matters when you start 'knocking wall down' etc. Try getting your builder to mix umpteen types/colours of mortar to make a small repair in a outside wall, go away for a week or so to let it dry and the inspector to find time to take a look at it.

Then ask the builder to rake it out and do it over and over again, then one day your builder stops taking your calls.

Try buying a replacement sash window with glazing bars of just the right thickness only to discover you have to have the window custom made, oh , and same with the front door you had to replace even though it was identical to the 3 cottages next door.

You might not be able to use modern glass to re glaze so you have to buy very thin float glass otherwise the building looks too different.

Then have countless 'discussions' about what exact colour to paint them. Move on to choosing the door furniture...that no one makes anymore.....

If you really want it and can afford it. Go ahead , buy it.

This was not me renovating a listed property , this started 8 years into ownership when the cottage at the end of the row was sold and the new owner got the builders in and the inspector decided to 'have a look' at the other 2 properties , mine included.

Buyer beware.

 

[Darrell]

No houses but I’ve done umpteen lead domes, dormers and flat roofs on properties like these and generally they’re a pain in the derrière.

I would’ve loved to have got into thatched roofing.

 

[Alfie]

You should budget on at least £30k every fifteen years for a new roof.

Also pray no-one nearby ever lights one of those Chinese lanterns or let’s off a firework!

 

[DSM10000]

I am considering a move and have been looking at thatched cottages in the Bucks area.

Having done some research I realise the restrictions on Grade 11 listed buildings, such as alterations, extensions, and am not particularly bothered by that, more the implication of having a thatched roof.

Type of straw depends on lifespan etc., but what of the annual insurance costs?

My current house insurer couldn't even give me rough estimate, said it was specialists Insurance companies only.

Am I looking at a fortune compared to my £300pa at the moment?

All advice welcome.

Why not ask the current owner what they are paying for insurance?

 

[zipdip]

Ok I owned a thatched cottage grade 2 listed,,first as you may know there are different thatches,the most expensive that lasts the longest is Reed,then you have the various others,a thatch should last 30 years but at 15 you will need to replace the ridge,it is important to make sure before you buy that anything that has been done to the cottage has been passed,otherwise you will be liable for anything found wrong.
My only run in with the cottage was that at one end there was a metal roof,and I wanted to thatch that as well,this led to a dispute with the conservation people,but I won the day because I found a old lady in the village who's late husband was the local historian and he took photo's of everything and he had photo's of the cottage in 1936 and it was thatched and a picture of the lane by a earlier photographer circa 1910 which showed the cottage thatched,and the best bit was the guy even had a picture of the tin roof being put on in 1945 after a small fire,this all happened in the early 1980's ,but I doubt there has been much change,as for insurance I payed about 25% more because of the thatch they may well have changed

 

[DSM10000]

Our "cottage" (somewhat extended over the original footprint) is Grade II listed and we had to spend quite some time and money eventually employing a Consultant who was expert in "negotiating" (i.e. finding legal ways around) Conservation rules etc.

Someone had used metal framed windows in the kitchen probably in the 1960's or so. These had no insulation properties, caused condensation which in turn damaged paintwork and caused other damp issues as they leaked and we wanted to replace these with hardwood windows in keeping with the other glazing.

When submitting plans for the extension the Conservation officer insisted they were kept!

Our Consultant put together a very convincing argument that they were not original, not in keeping with the property (he travelled around the area and looked at similar cottages and none had such windows) and were in fact damaging the building and therefore not aiding conservation overall.

 

[flying haggis]

"conservation" officers love making you spend money. i wouldnt touch a listed building with a bargepole.

 

[mattc]

"conservation" officers love making you spend money. i wouldnt touch a listed building with a bargepole.

I guess it's just a way of justifying the job function. Especially if the guidance/advice is chargeable and become a little profit centre in a council budget

 

[DoberMan]

Why not ask the current owner what they are paying for insurance?

I haven't physically viewed any Grade 11 or thatch yet but if I do I would be sure to ask.

 

[ChrisEdu]

My father and I worked on a Grade 2 cottage once, and had the joy of having to deal with the conservation people. OMG!!! If you though actors are a bunch of luvvies, they have nothing on some of these people!

The property had wattle and lathe walls, some of which was exposed during the work we were doing. In come the conservation people and pow! Wouldn't it be a lovely idea to make a feature panel of this!? So, long story short, we had to install a display panel and lighting to showoff a load of sticks and sh1t!

 

[219]

You should budget on at least £30k every fifteen years for a new roof.

Also pray no-one nearby ever lights one of those Chinese lanterns or let’s off a firework!

Perhaps one can now impregnate thatch with some form of flame retardant?

 

[zipdip]

I was given great advice,l am not sure about Bucks,but my place in Norfolk was in a village it had the local pub and shop as well as butchers and a bread delivery man,ok this was the 1980's but the advice was use the local places for at least some of your weekly needs,and join some local clubs,then you will get accepted,I did that I used the pub more than anything,but I joined the local camera club and met the old lady who gave a talk using the photos of her late husband and found the photo's of my place to use in the planning dispute.

 

[Deleted member 6183]

Perhaps one can now impregnate thatch with some form of flame retardant?

Would the conservation people approve that?

 

[DoberMan]

Perhaps one can now impregnate thatch with some form of flame retardant?

I believe some form of fire retardant is used.

 

[John N]

You should budget on at least £30k every fifteen years for a new roof.

Also pray no-one nearby ever lights one of those Chinese lanterns or let’s off a firework!

Slight Post Hijack!

I worked with a woman in Stevenage that had bought her "Dream House" near Henlow, it had the "Reed Thatch" and when she bought it the Surveyor advised her to have the Thatch Replaced in a couple of Years as it was judged to be "Old"

She had waited the two Years then started making the enquires to "Thatching Companies". Most of them came from Norfolk, it took a while for her to accumulate "Estimates etc" the Cost wasn't the "Shock" to her and her Husband, it was the Timescales Involved, the whole Roof Thatch Replacement would take about Five Days! But there was a "Backlog" the next available Booking was 18 Months Away!

This was in the Early 90's, so it may be very different these days!